Bronze Weapons from Han State of the Warring States Period Unearthed in Xinzheng

It has been more than 50 years since the discovery of Xinzheng bronze weapons from the Han State (375 BC - 230 BC) of the Warring States Period (475 BC - 221 BC), which were unearthed at Baimiaofan Village of Xinzheng County, Zhengzhou City of Henan Province in 1971. A large number of inscription bronze weapons unearthed therefrom, including dagger-axes, spears, and swords, have sparked significant academic interest and hold major scholarly importance in China. Hao Benxing detailed the excavation circumstances, shapes, and casting features of these weapons in his reports and articles, who also made textual research and explication of some inscriptions. Due to limited conditions, the information on these materials has only been sporadically released over the past 50 years and has never been fully published to the public. Thus, despite numerous academic studies, they are just a “tip of the iceberg”. The Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology (HPICHA) made efforts and mobilized its manpower and resources to sort out, proof and revise Mr. Hao’s original research reports and to take high-resolution photographs of most of the artifacts. After extensive collection and organization, HPICHA released almost all the inscription bronze weapons unearthed in Xinzheng, most of which are published for the first time and are attached by high-definition color images of both the bronze weapons and inscriptions. HPICHA tried its best to secure clear, complete, rich and diverse graphs and illustrations, and published these collectively to provide detailed and reliable original materials for the academic community or researchers in China.